Attachment, A Deep And Emotional Bond

Attachment is the emotional bond between humans, which is based on our relationship with a parent or early caregiver during the years of childhood. There are four different attachment styles – secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful – each describing a different way in which individuals interact with others, approach social and romantic relationships, and deal with life.

The term ‘attachment’ is used by psychologists who study the child’s early relationships. An attachment is a unique emotional bond normal between a child and an adult. A theorist called John Bowlby (1970-90) had a relation to the attachment theory. In 1950s John identified that when children and

John Bowlby’s work in attachment has been the foundation when determining the attcahments and bonds that a child and parent may experience (Webb, 2011). According to Bowlby, “attachment” is referring to a lasting, mutual bond of affection that is dependent on an individual or more than one person (Webb, 2011). Establishing a secure attachment during infancy and early childhood is an important task of a parent or a caregiver. Not all parents or caregivers can provide their child with a secure attachment at this important in life due to various reasons. Since parents are the main providers in their child’s development of attachment, their lives and history has a great influence on their children’s lives.

Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Bowlby, 1969). Likewise, attachment theory is a psychological model that seeks to illustrate the dynamics of both long term and short- term interpersonal relationships (Waters, E.; Corcoran, D.; Anafarta, M. 2005). Additionally, attachment theory address how people respond within relationships when hurt, separated from loved ones, or when they perceive a threat (Waters et al., 2005). Attachment theory is the combined work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (Bretherton, I. 1992, p. 1). The theory predominantly draws on the ideas from doctrines such as, ethology, cybernetics, information processing and developmental psychology (Bretherton, I. 1992, p. 1). It is considered that attachment theory has revolutionized the way society thinks about the relationship between the mother and her child and the importance of

John Bowlby, the backbone of attachment theories will be discussed throughout this essay to explain and evaluate the key theories of attachment. Health and well-being which is made up of four factors ‘physical, intellectual, emotional and social ' (Jones, 2016), will also be discussed within the essay. The definition of attachment is ‘an act of attaching or the state of being attached. ' (Dictionary, 1400) This will be showed in the assignment, using theorists to analyse the meaning. Sharing the strengths and weaknesses in some theorists will help conclude this assignment.

Mary Ainsworth was a psychologist that did a research studies about attachment between mothers and infants. Ainsworth’s research spanned four years of collection and it also took ten years to analyze. Ainsworth worked with John Bowlby and conducted research that provided an empirical support for his explanation of attachment. Ainsworth repeated part of her Ugandan studies in an American city where she observed the relationship between mothers and babies. Mary Ainsworth was known for her strange situation models. She begins

Attachment refers to the degree to which an individual is close to non-deviant others, including, family members, friends and peers. One’s willingness to conforming to norms and expectations is dependent on how attached they are to others. This element goes on to extends

Attachment, according to Emde (1982) is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another, across time and space. John Bowlby, and Evolutionist, believed that attachment was pre-programmed. In order for us to survive as a species, we needed to attach to a significant other; that its innate in us to single out a few specific individuals around us and attach to them, an so providing a survival advantage. Bowlby rationalised that the attachment between a mother and infant was unlike any other bond; very unlike the bond an infant would develop with another human. He coined it ‘Monotrophy’.

An attachment is an emotional bond between two people. It is a two-way process that endures over time. An evolutionary perspective of attachment was researched by the famous John Bowlby in 1969.

John Bowlby and Maternal Deprivation Bowlby believed that maternal behaviour was instinctive in humans as it appears to be in animals. Mothers and their babies form an instinctive attachment to each other using genetically inherited skills such as smiling, grasping, crying and so on. If a separation occurs between mother and infant within the first few years of the child’s life, Bowlby believed that the bond would be irreversibly broken, leading to severe emotional consequences for the infant in later life. He referred to this as maternal deprivation. Bowlby claimed that maternal deprivation had the following consequences: 1.

Attachment is a lasting and profound emotional bond that attaches one individual to another across space and time (Bowlby, 1969; Ainsworth, 1973). Attachment does not have to be a mutual thing; one individual may have an attachment to another person however he or she may not feel the same way. Attachment is considered by the way children behave, for example seeking closeness with the attachment figure when they are endangered or in distress (Bowlby, 1969).

“Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space’’

Attachment changes how the human body works. When a person meets someone new, they can get attached to that person rather easily. This is because human attachment is deeply connected to

Many psychologists have come and gone, and many different theoretical orientations have been developed. With each orientation has come a new perspective on development, behaviour and mental processes. Some are similar, yet others could not be more contradictory. Attachment is one such theoretical orientation, developed by John Bowlby out of his dissatisfaction with other existing theories. Although Bowlby rejected psychoanalytical explanations for early infant bonds, the theory of attachment was influenced in part by the principles of psychoanalysis; in particular the observations by Ana Freud and Dorothy Burlingham of young children separated from

Anger, according to Bowlby (1951), can be a direct response to a separation experienced during infancy. In a study produced by Heinicke & Westheimer (1966), ten young children were observed during and after a two-week stay at a residential nursery. The comparisons made between those children and children who had remained in their homes showed